Wall construction



A Aug. 31, 1943. A, s L v 2,328,051

WALL CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 21, I940 INVENTOR.

BY JI'ETWM 7 ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 31, 1943 WALL CONSTRUCTION Alvali S. Bull, Minneapolis, Minn., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Minnesota and Ontario Paper Company, a corporation of Minnesota Application August 21, 1940, Serial No. 353,455.

" 3 Claims. ,(Cl. 20-4) 1 The invention relates to the fabrication of the inner walls of buildings and the like structures from panel units made of the usual substance such as wood pulp, vegetable pulp, etc, and of any size from small pieces simulating tile to very large sheets.

The invention also relates to a wall construction formed from sections or units of vegetable fiber board and the like. In one application of the invention the sections may constitute the exposed surface or wall, and in such use its face may be treated for decorative eflect.

Insulating wallboards of various present commercial types have not'heretofore been economically employed as inside wall covering without nailing them with exposed nails. The exposed heads of nails are in themselves disfiguring, and even if finishingnails are employed and are set into boards or panels, the holes remain visible and cannot be adequately filled so as to conceal their presence. Ii such boards are glued to a plastered surface stresses are set up in the face of the latter as the boards shrink. These stresses may be severe, and unless the plaster is very hard and strong, will cause the. boards to peel off.

An object of the present invention is to successfully and economically attach wallboards r the like to a plaster or other wall or support in such a manner that the foregoing objections are eliminated.

Viewed in one of its aspects, the present invention may be said to have for its object the success of attachment of wallboard or the like to wall or other supporting structure without leaving visible evidence of the presence of nails or other fastening means.

Viewed in another aspect, the present invention may be said to have as an object the locking of a board joint against opening and also to provide a joint that greatly, if not entirely, eliminates infiltration of dust at theboard joints.

It will be seen that the invention viewed in a still further aspect may be regarded as having for its object to produce a novel wall or wall covering in which the panels are effectively secured meeting edgesand have such edges interlocked against opening.

The various features of novelty whereby the invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but, for a full understanding of the invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection withthe accompany drawing, wherein-z Figure l is a sectional view through boards showing the joint construction.

Figure 3 is a sectional view through boards showing a modified joint construction.

Figure 4 is a sectional view of two boards showing the modified joint construction. i

Figure 5 is a plane view of the locking member.

Figure 6 is a sectional view, showing one means of using locking members.

Figure 7 is a sectional view through a wall showing the invention applied to a surfacing material.

To obtain the best results in nailing fiber board to a wall, support or the like, it is necessary to have the nail pass through the board at an angle to the surfaces. From the standpoint of appearance the head of the nails should not be visible on the finished surface. One objection to the use of fiber board known join-t construction for wall surface'covering is that infiltration of dust occurs along the joints and in time a dark line appears along the joints between adjacent boards.

The present invention permits securing boards in placeyas for example, with nails without the nail heads being visible in the finished surface and at the same time preventing infiltration of dust at the joints.

In one application of the invention heat insulating and sound absorbing fiber board ii is secured directly to the studding ill by means of nails I2. In common with most all building materials, fiberboard expands and contracts during changes of temperature and relative humidity. This volume change in responsible for the movement that results in the warping of fiber board. To overcome this disadvantage spaces for expansion are provided without permitting infiltration of dust, as. shown in Figure l at l2 and IB and inFigure3at-l6 and 20.

The edges of the boards II are provided with articulated joints of suitable construction which interlock with joints on adjacent boards. In Figures 1 and 2 this joint is formed by oblique shoulder l3 which terminates at the upper surface of the board and oblique flange M which is of greater width than the shoulder I3. The shoulder i3 and flange l4 form an angular recess which may betermed substantially V-shaped. The joint so formed cooperates with a joint on adjacent board formed by oblique shoulder I1, flange i8 as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Flange I8 is of greater width than flange I 4 thereby forming expansion space I5. Shoulder i3 is cut at a different slope than shoulder l1 thus providing expansion space l5. Flange, being of greater width than shoulder i3, permits the nail being driven into the board at an angle to the face of the board. The nail head is parallel to the flange l4 surface as shown in Figures 1 and 3.

Figures 3, 4 and 6 disclose the preferred form of joint constructionin which oblique shoulder 2| is adapted to cooperate with shoulder 22 in providing expansion space and at the same time giving an additional gripping surface to prevent dust infiltration.

tain a more positive interlocking of adjacent boards and this is obtainable by the use of locking pin shown in Figure 5. The lock pin is provided with penetrating ends 23 and 24 and to limit the penetration in the board stop means 25 is provided. It is often desirable to insure movement of the lock pin and this can be'obtained by providing opening is through which nail l2 passes. The pin generally and preferably is inserted as shown in Figure 6. Pin end 22 is inserted in the board until stops 25 abut against shoulder I3 and the body of the pin rests upon The nail is driven into the supporting flange l4. means and passes through opening 26 in'the pin and through board H at an angle. The adjacent board II has a tongue pushed into the groove in adjacent board and end 24 of the pin penetrates into the lower portion of the board II.

The use of board through the specifications and claimsisinte'nded to mean and cover board, sheets, slabs of the deslre'd'thickness and size.

In the specification and claims the word wall is intendedto cover and means walls and ceilings.

What I claim is:

1. In a building construction, the combination with a supporting surface a series of manufactured vegetable boards secured to the supporting surface and forming interior wall panels and secured in place by means driven at an angle to major surfaces of the board, each board having opposite edges of substantially complemental configuration, each of said edges including a pair of tongues of unequal length and the surface connecting the two tongues being non-parallel to the major surfaces of the board and a spline-like member penetrating adjacent boards at an angle to said major surfaces and lying on said surface connecting the said two tongues.

2. In an inner wall building construction the combination with a support of a series of manufa'ctured fiber board secured to the support, each board having opposite edges of substantially complemental configuration, each of said edges including a pair of tongues of unequal length and the surface. connecting the pair of tongues being non-parallel to major surfaces of a board, and a concealed fastener comprising a spline-like member penetrating adjac'ent boards in a plane substantially parallel to the surface connecting the pair of tongues and lying wholly within said adia'cent boards.

3. In an inner wall building construction the combination with a supporting member of a series of vegetable fiber panels secured to the supporting members, each panel having opposite edges of substantially complemental configuration, each of said edges including a pair of tongues of unequal length and the surface connecting the two tongues being non-paralle1 to major surfaces of the panel, the longer of the tongues having a bevel extending from one end thereof to an adiacent face of the panel and the shorter tongue having oppositely beveled sides and a spline-like member on said surface connecting the said two tongues and adapted to penetrate adjacent panels and lie wholly concealed within said panels.

ALVAH 5. 3m. 

